Officer in Tamir Rice shooting not take offered police job

BELLAIRE, Ohio (AP) — The former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old black boy playing with a pellet gun has decided not to accept a part-time position with a small southeast Ohio department.

WTOV-TV reports Bellaire Police Chief Richard Flanagan confirmed Wednesday that Timothy Loehmann had withdrawn his application. Flanagan has said he offered Loehmann a job because he believes in second chances.

Loehmann shot Tamir Rice within seconds of a cruiser skidding to a stop outside a Cleveland recreation center in November 2014. Loehmann said afterward he feared for his life.

Cleared in the shooting, Loehmann was fired in May 2017 for failing to disclose to Cleveland he’d been previously forced out by another department.

Tamir’s mother, Samaria Rice, said Wednesday she hopes Loehmann will never again be a police officer.